Telephone protector



Aug. 20, 1940. H. MAYER I TELEPHONE PROTECTOR Filed March 11, 1938 mummy liar/y Mqyer:

W ATT RNEY Patented Aug. 20,1940

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE muons rno'mo'ron. Harry Mayer, New York, N. Y. Application March 11, 1938, Serial No. 195,233

3 Claims. (Ol. 179185) The present invention relates to a protector and it particularly relates to protectors for telephone equipment.

The usual type of telephone equipment includes a mouthpiece and an earpiece, and these particularly in public places are subject'to usage by many different types of people during the course of a day.

After such continuous usage, the mouthpiece,

1., and to a lesser degree the earpiece, which have recessed and hollow portions, tend to acquire odors and become quite dirty and often quite unsanitary.

Particularly in case of the mouthpieces, these elements, whether in regular phones or in the French type of phones, are in such a position as to be particularly receptive to various types of micro-organisms, many of which are quite harmful to human beings and which might well cause 50 spread of disease or cause infection as the case may be.

It is not readily possible to cleanse or wash these receivers at frequent intervals because of the recessed construction and also because the ,35 materials and location thereof do not permit fre-- quent cleansing and sanitation.

It has been proposed to utilize glass receivers and receptacles both for the mouthpiece and earpiece, but although these have a smooth surface "so which may be readily cleansed, generally such cleansing is not carried out, but such mouthpieces and earpieces tend to lose the deposited microorganisms quite readily with the resulting tendency to pass on various types of disease and in- .35 fection causing germs or bacteria.

This is particularly true where the opening and closing of doors in telephone booths and the currents of air set up by the voice of the speaker will tend to agitate and stir up the germs and bacteria deposited upon the telephone receiver and will further tend to result in the subsequent user of a telephone being. subjected to the action of bacterial or disease-causing germs which had 55 Another object is to provide an improved telephone attachment which will protect the mouth and ear pieces thereof and at the same. time improve transmission and reception of the voice therethrough while assuring sanitary conditions.

Other objects will be obvious or will appear 6 during the course of the following specification. In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most suitable to provide a cover which may be made of an inexpensive fabric or fibrous ma terial which should closely fit upon the mouth- 10 piece of a telephone receiver, whether of the old upright type or of the French type. This cover may consist of an absorbent material containing a suitable medicinal, germicidal or other similar agent. Among the materials which may be employed are wovenfabrics preferably having a substantial nap, such as fine woven silk, cotton, wool, worsted, rayon or cellulose acetate, although in certain cases knitted fabrics may be employed.

These fabrics may be stretched upon a shaped, molded or pressed form of sheet material of flexible nature, such as paper or sheet resinous materials or even sheet cellulose derivatives, the expansion of which when fitted. upon the mouthpiece is limited by the weave or mesh of the cloth.

In one desired construction, the base of paper or other sheet material is provided with a looking groove or lip to cooperate and lock with the lip or corresponding groove of the mouthpiece of the French or upright telephone and the base material is preferably of such a construction as to expand and be pressed tightly upon the base or structure of the mouthpiece.

In the drawing, which shows several of the various possible embodiments of the present invention as applied to mouthpieces, to which, how ever, the invention is by no means restricted, since the invention may be applied in other forms and embodiments than those shown, the drawing being merely by way of illustration and not by way of limitation,

Fig. 1 is a perspective side view of a French type of telephone illustrating the protective device of the present invention in position thereon,

Fig. 2 is a side section view upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the protector removed from the telephone upon the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view upon the line l4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a front viewupon the line 5-5 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of thetoprof an upright telephone receiver,

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional viewnpon the line of Fig. 6,

Fig.8isarearview oftheprotectorofFlgfl removed from. the telephone mouthpiece on the line 3-8,

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view of an alternative construction, and

Fig. is a fragmentary rear view of the alternative construction of Fig. 9.

10 Referring to the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 5,

the handpiece it of the French telephone is provided with a mouthpiece II and an earpiece l2. The earpiece I2 is provided with a lip l3, a conically depressed portion l4 and a central opening l5 IS. The earpiece, as indicated at the right of Fig. 1, may be provided with a protector, but the protector illustratively described in the present application will be particularly applied to the A a nominal sum of a cent or a nickel.

mouthpieces.

Referring particularly to the mouthpiece construction as shownin Fig. 2, there is a base l3 constituting a continuation of the end of the portion I! which is threaded at I! and receives the inwardly threaded sleeve Ill. The sleeve I3 is provided with a domed portion l9 having an opening 20 and it has an interior shoulder 2| which clamps the disk 22 in position across the end of the threaded portion I1. I

The shell A, to which the present invention is particularly directed, is provided with an interior paper liner 23 and a cloth 24, the fabric being without support at 25 across the opening 20. The fabric 24 should preferably be of such a nature as to have a nap suflicient to retain any microorganism particles of saliva which might be thrown upon the fabric as a result of the use thereof by numerous persons and which should preferably be of such a nature in conjunction with the paper 23 as to retain a medicant or germicidal or bactericidal agents.

Among the materials which may be utilized are thymols, menthols, various hydroxylated and/or halogenated aromatic phenolic and naphthalene compounds, chlorinated compounds,

such as chlorinated lime, iodine compounds and many other types of materials. Both the paper 23 and the cloth covering 24 may be impregnated with various essential oils, which may also have a. germicidal, medicinal or bactericidal value.

It will be noted that the paper liner has a lip 26 turned inside of the end portion 21 of the element l9 and that the portion of the fabric 25 is stretched tautly across the opening 20 where it is found to give proper resonance to the sound and at the same time substantially prevent ingress of germs, bacteria and micro-organisms into the space 28. The sleeves |8 of the receivers are preferably provided with openings 29 and 30, which lock with or receive indentations or spots 0 3| on the sleeve portion 32 of the cover or protector element A.

The cover element A is also provided with a groove or ridge 33 which is designed to fit in the s groove or ridge 34 in the periphery of the sleeve I I8. The paper liner 23, which may be formed of pressed stock, preferably has overlapping portions as indicated at 35 which are designed to expand or contract and are limited in such expansion or contraction by the cloth or fabric cover 24. The

cloth or fabric has a slightly stretchable gore portion 35a.

When the strifcture A is slipped over the mouthpiece, the. overlapping portions 35 will be forced apart until the grooves 33 and 34' interlock, with the spot 3| enabling correct location of the particular shell A when inserted upon the mouthiece. p The fabric 24 when the shell A is inserted will pick up and retain any material which may be deposited upon it and at the same time due to 5 its medicinal, bactericidal or germlcidalcharacter will prevent the arising of unpleasant odors and smells in and about the mouthpiece of the telephone.

At the same time the shell A, as shown, is of 1 such low cost, that the shells may be removed after each conversation or after several hours use and discarded and a new one placed in po-- sition. The shells may be readily kept in dispensing apparatus, such as utilized for paper 15 cups adjacent water fountains, and if desired, the protector shells A may be dispensed free of charge or by-slot machines upon the payment of In the construction as shown in Figs. 6 to 10, so

the paper shell 50, of conical shape, with an. opening 60, closely fits the interior of the conical mouthpiece 5| and is covered with a fabric 53. The fabric extends over the opening 60 and the perforated back 55 of the conical mouthpiece 53, 35

as indicated at 54. The paper shell 50 is inturned, as indicated at 56, over the edge 51 of the mouthpiece and the cover 58 is also attached over said edge 56. a

The paper cover has the overlapping portions 4 59 which function the same as the portions 35 of the device of Figs. 1 to 5.

The lip combination 56-58 may be made so as to snap over the edge 51 of the conical mouthpiece 5|. a

As shown in Fig. 8, the fabric 54 may be under tension, as is the fabric 25 in Fig. 2. When under tension the fabric 54 will function the same as the fabric 25 in Fig. 2 to modulate the sound.

In the construction of Figs. 9 and 10 one layer of fabric 10 is placed on the interior of the conical form H and the other layer of fabric 12 is placed on the exterior of the conical form I I. The conical form, as indicated, terminates at 13 and the two layers of fabric are positioned closely together or even adhesively connected over said opening 15. The external fabric I2 terminates at 15 short of the outer fabric 10, which in turn terminates at 11 short of the inturned lip 13.

It is also possible, of course, completely to cover the shell A of Figs. 1 to 5 both interiorly and exteriorly with the fabrics and the fabric may be limited so as to extend only over the mouthpiece portion, with the exterior of the shell being utilized to grip the exterior of the mouthpiece. as best indicated at 18 in Figs. 9 and 10.

Although a two-layer construction is shown in Figs. 1 to 8 and a three-layer construction is shown in Figs. 9 and 10, it is also possible to utilize a single layer composed of a stlif cloth or an 70 absorbent paper suitably medicated, or a multilayer construction may be utilized in which the layers of fabric may be peeled off the exterior of the mouthpiece with continued usage.

It is to be understood that instead of using u paper or a fabric, either two layers of paper may be utilized or two layers of. fabric may be utilized and other sheet materials may be suitably formed or employed in the device as shown.

It is thus apparent that the applicant has provided an inexpensive, simple and durable construction which may be employed quite widely for the sanitation of telephone receivers at low expense and cost and which will assure sanitary conditions in and about the usual types of telephone receivers now in use.

Many other changes could be effected in the particular features of protectors for telephone equipment, and in specific details thereof, without substantially departing from the invention intended to be defined in the claims, the specific description herein merely serving to illustrate certain elements by which, in one embodiment, the spirit of the invention may be effectuated.

What is claimed is:

1. For combination with a telephone mouthpiece of the French type having a cylindrical interiorly threaded sleeve having an encircling groove around the same, and a recessed beaded portion outside said groove; a laminated protector having an inner cover of stifi paper closely fitting said sleeve, and beaded portion, and having an indentation to snap into said groove and an inturned lip to fit inside of said recess, the side of said cover having an overlapping portion widening obliquely from the said inturned lip to the edge of. said sleeve covering portion and a fabric cover for said paper cover extending over said sleeve covering portion and said lip.

2. The protector of claim 1, in which the cylindrical sleeve of said mouthpiece is provided with two diametrically opposite openings and in which said sleeve covering portion is provided with two indentations to snap into said recesses.

3. The protector of claim 1, in which the fabric cover is adhesively connected to the stiff paper base and is stretched. between the lower edges of said inturned lip and is provided with an ex- H 

